Water rescues cap busy weekend at Santa Cruz County beaches

SANTA CRUZ &GT;&GT; A busy holiday weekend for lifeguards was capped off Monday evening by three separate rescues at Santa Cruz and Capitola beaches.

About 7 p.m., lifeguards responded to a 911 call for two people trapped on rocks north of Capitola Wharf because of a rising tide, said Santa Cruz Fire Battalion Chief Jason Hajduk.

Two lifeguards and a Central Fire rescue swimmer swam to the pair and helped them off the rocks to the beach. No one was injured, Hajduk said.

About the same time on Santa Cruz Main Beach, lifeguards in a lifeguard tower spotted a man and another person in the water who were "obviously in distress," Hajduk said.

One lifeguard paddled a rescue surfboard to the man and another lifeguard swam out with a small flotation device.

The man was lifted on to the board and was paddled to the beach. The other person also was rescued and was helped to the beach. The man on the board nearly drowned, authorities said, and he was taken by ambulance to Dominican Hospital as a precaution, Hajduk said.

While that rescue was happening, lifeguards spotted another swimmer in distress off Main Beach and brought the swimmer to the beach. No one was injured.

"There was a lot of rescues made through the weekend," Hajduk said. Because the Main Beach lifeguard towers close about 7 p.m., "These were right at closing time," he said.

Lifeguards reminded swimmers and beach combers not to overestimate their swimming ability in the ocean. Authorities advised visitors to swim near a lifeguard tower if possible and check in with a lifeguard to assess conditions.

About 60,000 people visited Santa Cruz and Capitola beaches during Memorial Day weekend, authorities said.

Saturday through Monday, lifeguards made more than 3,000 "preventative contacts" with swimmers and beach combers to be sure they were safe.

Visitors on Main Beach also left piles of garbage that remained Tuesday morning, authorities said.

At Panther Beach north of Santa Cruz, Save Our Shores volunteers picked up 314 pounds of trash on Tuesday morning. The debris included plastic cups, foam coolers and paper plates left by careless beachgoers and revelers.

"It was pretty dirty," said Marina Maze, program coordinator for Santa Cruz-based Save Our Shores. "We did two cleanups (at Panther Beach), one Sunday and one Tuesday. We picked up 170 pounds of trash on Sunday."

The group did not clean up Panther Beach last Memorial Day weekend, so it was not clear if that amount of trash was more or less than before. A similar cleanup in September 2013 at Panther Beach netted 477 pounds of trash, Maze said.

She reminded people who visit beaches not to leave trash in overflowing trash containers, but rather bring it home or dispose of it elsewhere. Trash in full bins is often spread by birds, Maze said, "So all those good intentions go to waste."

Capitola police and the California Highway Patrol also had a busy weekend, which included a DUI checkpoint from 8 p.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Saturday on 41st Avenue included one arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence, two arrests for warrants and eight tickets for drivers with suspended licenses or driving without licenses.

Dozens of drivers were stopped at the checkpoint, said CHP officer Trista Sharp.